Splendours of Suffolk & Constable Country

Suffolk is a county filled with natural beauty, charming villages and historic wool towns that have changed little since Tudor times, with their timber-framed buildings and crooked streets. We step back in time in lovely Lavenham, one of the best preserved and wealthiest towns in Tudor England, and explore Constable Country, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, where we walk in the footsteps of John Constable, discovering the landscape that inspired his greatest paintings.

Belstead Brook Muthu Hotel

The Belstead Brook Muthu Hotel is located in suburban Ipswich. Built around a 16th-century hunting lodge, the hotel is set in extensive lawned gardens and offers traditionally decorated bedrooms, a library, bar and oak-panelled restaurant. Leisure club facilities include a swimming pool, sauna, steam room and gym.

Single Supplements Apply

Hotel Rating

Hotels with a JG3 rating tend to be a more formal style of hotel, often part of a hotel chain, with a greater range of facilities and services. Bedrooms are a little more spacious and have additional features. Public areas are larger and include lounge seating, a bar and restaurant with good quality food served either buffet style or with waiter service.

Excursion One - Marks Hall Gardens and Arboretum & Paycocke’s HouseSet in 200 acres of historic landscape, the Marks Hall Gardens and Arboretum feature a tree collection from all the temperate regions of the world, with areas representing Europe, Asia, North America and the Southern Hemisphere. Highlights include the 18th-century walled garden with a combination of traditional and contemporary planting and the Millennium Walk.

We then head to the picturesque market town of Coggeshall, known for its many beautiful listed buildings. Here we visit Paycocke's House, an exquisitely carved half-timbered Tudor cloth merchant’s house built around 1500. The house is a testament to the wealth generated by the cloth trade in East Anglia in the 16th century and tells a fascinating story of its riches to rags decline and Edwardian restoration.

Excursion Two - Lavenham Guildhall & Melford HallPicturesque Lavenham is a remarkably well-preserved Tudor village which was one of the richest towns in England during the 15th century thanks to the woollen-cloth industry. Here we visit LavenhamGuildhall, a fine timber-framed building that is a potent reminder of Lavenham’s former prosperity. After an introductory talk and morning coffee, we discover the stories of the people who have used the Guidhall through the centuries.

We continue on to Melford Hall where we enjoy an introductory talk before our visit. During its history, this red-brick Tudor mansion with picturesque turrets has played host to Queen Elizabeth I, seen Civil War unrest and survived a disastrous fire in 1942. Home to the Hyde Parker family for more than two centuries, it remains their beloved family home to this day and contains fine collections of art, porcelain and furniture.

Excursion Three - Flatford Constable Walking Tour & DedhamWe join the coach to take us to the quiet hamlet of Flatford, from where we enjoy a walking tour of approximately one hour. Led by an experienced National Trust guide, we visit the key views and locations which inspired many of Constable’s iconic paintings.

After our walk, we rejoin the coach and travel through Dedham Vale, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty immortalised in Constable’s paintings, stopping in the idyllic village of Dedham, where we have time to explore at leisure. Set on the River Stour with scenic water meadows, the village is the epitome of rural England with an attractive main street lined with Georgian-fronted houses, old inns and a large arts and crafts centre.

Take advantage of our brand new, stress free departure option of "Club Class Home Collection Service". With this luxury service, a uniformed chauffeur will collect you from home and transfer you to the hotel, airport or cruise port in top specification cars or MPV's then at the end of your holiday they will be waiting to whisk you home again.

Please note: On some journeys we may collect other customers en-route who are travelling on the same holiday as yourself. The maximum number of pickups would be your plus two more with a maximum of six people in the vehicle. Journeys over 2.5 hours will include comfort breaks and complimentary bottles water is provided. All vehicles are fitted with satellite navigation and tracking devices. Service available from addresses in mainland England only, one pickup per booking. Service operating in partnership with Club Class Chauffeurs.

Excursion One - Marks Hall Gardens and Arboretum & Paycocke’s HouseSet in 200 acres of historic landscape, the Marks Hall Gardens and Arboretum feature a tree collection from all the temperate regions of the world, with areas representing Europe, Asia, North America and the Southern Hemisphere. Highlights include the 18th-century walled garden with a combination of traditional and contemporary planting and the Millennium Walk.

We then head to the picturesque market town of Coggeshall, known for its many beautiful listed buildings. Here we visit Paycocke's House, an exquisitely carved half-timbered Tudor cloth merchant’s house built around 1500. The house is a testament to the wealth generated by the cloth trade in East Anglia in the 16th century and tells a fascinating story of its riches to rags decline and Edwardian restoration.

Excursion Two - Lavenham Guildhall & Melford HallPicturesque Lavenham is a remarkably well-preserved Tudor village which was one of the richest towns in England during the 15th century thanks to the woollen-cloth industry. Here we visit LavenhamGuildhall, a fine timber-framed building that is a potent reminder of Lavenham’s former prosperity. After an introductory talk and morning coffee, we discover the stories of the people who have used the Guidhall through the centuries.

We continue on to Melford Hall where we enjoy an introductory talk before our visit. During its history, this red-brick Tudor mansion with picturesque turrets has played host to Queen Elizabeth I, seen Civil War unrest and survived a disastrous fire in 1942. Home to the Hyde Parker family for more than two centuries, it remains their beloved family home to this day and contains fine collections of art, porcelain and furniture.

Excursion Three - Flatford Constable Walking Tour & DedhamWe join the coach to take us to the quiet hamlet of Flatford, from where we enjoy a walking tour of approximately one hour. Led by an experienced National Trust guide, we visit the key views and locations which inspired many of Constable’s iconic paintings.

After our walk, we rejoin the coach and travel through Dedham Vale, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty immortalised in Constable’s paintings, stopping in the idyllic village of Dedham, where we have time to explore at leisure. Set on the River Stour with scenic water meadows, the village is the epitome of rural England with an attractive main street lined with Georgian-fronted houses, old inns and a large arts and crafts centre.

Take advantage of our brand new, stress free departure option of "Club Class Home Collection Service". With this luxury service, a uniformed chauffeur will collect you from home and transfer you to the hotel, airport or cruise port in top specification cars or MPV's then at the end of your holiday they will be waiting to whisk you home again.

Please note: On some journeys we may collect other customers en-route who are travelling on the same holiday as yourself. The maximum number of pickups would be your plus two more with a maximum of six people in the vehicle. Journeys over 2.5 hours will include comfort breaks and complimentary bottles water is provided. All vehicles are fitted with satellite navigation and tracking devices. Service available from addresses in mainland England only, one pickup per booking. Service operating in partnership with Club Class Chauffeurs.